CEO Tim Cook refuses to talk about the Apple Car -- so here's what we know

Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesApple CEO Tim Cook delivers the keynote address during the Apple WWDC on June 8, 2015 in San Francisco, California. Apple announced a new OS X, El Capitan, iOS 9 and Apple Music during the keynote at the annual developers conference that runs through June 12,

Apple CEO Tim Cook refused to talk about the widely-rumoured “Apple Car” his company is believed to be developing in an interview on Thursday night.

It’s not a surprising response: Apple is famously tight-lipped about upcoming products and features, and the car — which would be its most ambitious foray into a new product category since the launch of the first iPhone — is believed to still be years away.

But this hasn’t stopped a growing flurry of leaks, reports and rumours over the last nine months. Here’s what we know so far:

Apple may also be planning at least part of the car’s manufacturing in Ireland. The company is significantly increasing its presence in Cork, Ireland, where it is planning a massive new factory complex. And a job listing for a managerial role at Apple’s Cork office asks for experience in the “automotive” industry. (It’s worth noting that this alone doesn’t necessarily mean anything — automotive industrial experience is also prized in other manufacturing industries.)

Apple has also hired Paul Furgale, whom The Journal describes as “one of the leading autonomous-vehicle researchers in Europe.

There are numerous other hires pointing towards the same thing: Apple settled a lawsuit brought against it by A123 Systems, a large-scale battery company that accused Apple of poaching its employees to develop its own battery technology. These employees include former A123 CTO Mujeeb Ijaz, who had specific responsibility for producing batteries for Formula 1 racing cars “with unparalleled power density.” He previously spent 16 years working at Ford, and after being hired by Apple he poached his former A123 coworkers to join the Cupertino company, the lawsuit alleged.

Some naysayers argue that Apple isn’t interested in building an Apple car — just in providing the software for them. But numerous recent hires of individuals with decades of deep experience in the automotive hardware business suggests otherwise.

As such, the information captured will probably manifest as an Apple equivalent of Google’s Street View product — but it’s a sign the company is continuing to invest in technologies relevant to the auto industry.

Industry chatter is growing

There’s also growing discussion within the industry about the rumoured Project Titan. The Apple Car has been common knowledge for months in certain tech circles, according to Bryan Chaffin from The Mac Observer, as early as February 2015 “a lot of people at the top in Silicon Valley consider[ed] it a given that Apple is working on a car.”

The CEO of Fiat-Chrysler also recently said Apple CEO Tim Cook was “interested in an intervention in the car,” following a meeting. (It’s significant in itself that the CEO met with Cook, as the other two tech companies he met with — Tesla and Google — are both openly and actively involved in cutting edge automotive technology.)

It gels with executive interests

Multiple senior Apple employees also have significant interest in the automotive industry. The late Apple cofounder and CEO Steve Jobs always wanted to build a car, telling The New York Times before he died “that if he had more energy, he would have liked to take on Detroit with an Apple car.”

Ive is joined in his distaste for modern cars by his old friend Marc Newson, a legendary designer. Newson has previously designed a concept car for Ford — and in Autumn last year, he finally joined Apple. In an interview in August, he said the American car industry is “at the bottom of a trough.”

Williams went on to frame his comment as relating to Apple’s in-car media platform Car Play, so it’s not a cast-iron confirmation that Apple is looking into automotive technology. But the Cupertino company was also making similarly vague statements about the “wrist” long before the Apple Watch was officially announced. Same thing with the “wallet,” which presaged the launch of Apple Pay.

And lastly, here’s Siegel asking Tim Cook about the Apple car:

Siegel: Is there going to be an Apple car?

Cook: Hahaha … you have another question?

Well you know, cars are all the rage. There’s Google car …

You know, I’ve been reading about a lot of stuff. We’re very much focused on the products that we’ve just announced. We’ve got iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s plus … We’re thrilled about that. They have got incredible features like live photos-

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